WINNING IN DEFEAT
Moylette loses a thriller, but receives plaudits for his efforts
BOXING was brought back to the west of Ireland in a big way as Ray Moylette made his homecoming at a packed-out Royal Theatre (Assassin Promotions) and, while the former elite amateur lost his headline fight versus Christian
Uruzquieta, it is a night that will live long in the memory.
Moylette went to war with the tough Mexican, eventually losing on a split decision following a scarcely believable 10 rounds. An ebb-and-flow first four gave way to a phenomenal fifth, with Moylette hitting the canvas twice – first when caught with a left hook while trading and then via accumulation. Both times the dazed Islandeady boxer was roared to his feet to beat referee David Irving’s count by the 2,000 in attendance at the atmospheric venue.
Incredibly, Moylette enjoyed good success in the rounds that followed, catching the relentless Uruzquieta with huge single left hooks and right hands as his frenzied support went wild. Uruzquieta, though, would not be denied and his constant pressure told on two of the scorecards, which read 95-94 and 96-92 in his favour against a 95-94 for Moylette.
The well-liked Moylette, who had sparring partner Anthony Crolla in his corner, has been hailed for his performance in the aftermath and a rematch looks likely. Chief support saw Gary “Spike”
O’sullivan begin his move down toward super-welterweight following a middleweight loss to David Lemieux in September. In a rather turgid fight, the rebuilding Mahon man took on durable Hungarian Gabor Gorbics and won a wide 80-72 decision on referee Pádraig Ó Reachtagáin’s card. O’sullivan was in complete control throughout the eight rounds and applied constant methodical pressure but didn’t get Gorbics out of there. Making a dream debut, 19-year-old
Aaron Gethins took to the ring in front of a capacity crowd right before the main event. The busy Ballinacarrow welter dominated his swing bout with Croat
Silvije Kebet, taking a 40-36 points win on Mr Ó Reachtagáin’s scorecard. Rathmichael super-lightweight
Victor Rabei needed just 2-18 of his four-rounder to demolish Antonio
Horvatic. The Moldova-born prospect dropped the Croat journeyman thrice in the opener, with Mr Ó Reachtagáin waving proceedings off immediately after
Horvatic’s third journey down.
Dylan Moran impressed as he builds toward a homecoming of his own. The flashy Waterford welter landed plenty of heavy shots on tough Barcelona-based Nicaraguan Nelson Altamirano, and Mr Irving scored the contest 60-54 in his favour.
Roy Sheahan made his long-awaited return to the ring. The Athy middleweight won the Prizefighter-style Ireland’s Last Man Standing competition back in March, but was embroiled in a well-documented non-payment scandal afterwards. With everything now thankfully resolved, the gifted former quality amateur took to the ring here in a short-notice four-rounder and forced Mr Irving to halt his bout with
Marian Cazacu after 2-48 of the third, with the portly Romanian taking increasing punishment. Inner-city Dublin super-welter Craig
O’brien scored a maiden stoppage, dropping Croatian Almin Kovacevic three times in the second of a scheduled six. A left hook to the body sent Kovacevic down for the third time and he was counted out by Mr Ó Reachtagáin after 1-47 of the round.
Owen Duffy was another Irish superwelter who scored a second-round win against a Croatian in a six-rounder. The Shercock fighter upped the pace in the second and Croatian southpaw Ivan
Duvancic would retire at the close of the session citing a nose injury. Ballybrack super-feather Niall
O’connor looked extremely sharp in dispatching Krzysztof Rogowski in the third of a scheduled four. The fast hands of O’connor had his Polish opponent down in the first and the second, before Mr Ó Reachtagáin stopped Rogowski standing after 1-35 of the third.
Swords heavyweight Paddy Nevin threw everything at Hrvoje Bozinovic, but the Croat managed to last the distance, with Mr Irving declaring Nevin a 40-36 winner.
Opening the show in a four-rounder, Tallaght cruiser Johnny Corcoran needed just 2-32 of the first to put away Pawel
Kucharski. Mr Ó Reachtagáin waved it off after the Pole’s fourth visit to the canvas.
THE VERDICT A night where a loss feels like a win for Moylette.